Port of Long Beach still seeking permanent HQ location

LONG BEACH - With an interim location for the Port of Long Beach's 350 or so employees finally settled, harbor officials now set their sights on a new permanent home.

The Board of Harbor Commissioners on Monday is expected to solidify its decision to temporarily move to a former Boeing Co. C-17 building near the Long Beach Airport.

Commissioners also will discuss the process for building a new headquarters in downtown Long Beach, something the board expressed interest in doing at last Monday's meeting.

"There's no desire to abandon downtown," Commissioner Rich Dines said at that meeting.

If the board approves the $14.25 million purchase of 4801 Airport Plaza Drive, it may go before the City Council as early as next week for approval. The council would have to amend the port's budget to allocate the money, said port spokesman Art Wong.

The deal would likely close Dec. 27 and port staff would be moving in about six months later, port officials said.

The road to finding a new headquarters for the port has been contentious between City Hall and the nation's second busiest seaport.

Built in 1959, the current administration building on Harbor Plaza is small, has costly earthquake retrofitting requirements, and has asbestos and lead-based paint issues, port officials said.

So they set aside $220 million for a new headquarters to be built near its current location. But Mayor Bob Foster vetoed the plan in 2010, calling it too expensive.

Port officials thought they had a new headquarters with the World Trade Center and were in escrow with the building's owners this year. But a tie decision killed the deal.

A letter leaked to the media detailing alleged closed session accusations made by one commissioner against two others further exacerbated matters.

Downtown business leaders have expressed disappointment in the port's temporary move to East Long Beach, but hoped the port would return permanently to downtown.

The Pacific Merchant Shipping Association's John McLaurin, whose organization represents terminal operators and others, criticized the move recently in the Journal of Commerce.

"Unlike former Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin who could `...actually see Russia from land in Alaska,' you won't be able to see the Port of Long Beach from the newly proposed Port of Long Beach Administration building," he wrote. "At least it will still be in the State of California."

The Harbor Commission will meet at 5 p.m. Monday at 925 Harbor Plaza. Visit polb.com for more information.